Crumpled Roses
by NightInGale-Minds
Summary: The struggle to rescue Karai is in their hands, but a new mutant in town has covered the city in a terrible corrosive goo. It burns quick like acid and can possess anyone it wants to with a single touch! Can they find a way to save everyone or will their minds get lost in it first? (TMNT 2012)
1. Part 1

_Genre: action, drama, horror, humor, suspense. Some minor elements or romance and tragedy_.

 **Part 1:**

Karai… Miwa… she was a mutant now. And her mind was lost. If that hadn't been enough, Oroku Saki had had the gull to blame him for the matter. It was a bitter insult to injury. His beloved daughter slipped from his fingers at the first opportunity he had even had to get to know her. Why was the Shredder's judgment so clouded he couldn't take the responsibility for what he had done? If he loved her in _any way_ the way he did… why?  
Master Splinter tried not to be bitter as he and his four sons waited anxiously for any sight of her. Donatello had buried himself in his lab, trying to get everything he could to re-create the retro-mutagen, but he knew they were running out of resources.  
And he wasn't the only one in the race to make it either. Master Shredder had ordered Baxter Stockman to generate the antidote as well. It seemed at every turn Donnie made, he was there, racing for the same ingredient and it quickly grew frustrating. Since they were working towards the same goal, Donatello had posed to the fly man that they form an alliance, but Baxter would have none of it. He didn't need help from the likes of Donnie, or so he claimed. But Donnie had had facts to back him up. At the rate they were going, there wouldn't be enough to change him back from a fly and that made the mad scientist rethink his priorities a little.  
If Tigerclaw hadn't gotten wind of it, they might have been working together. Baxter Stockman had had to beg Tigerclaw on hands and knees not to tell the Shredder and after that the bug man never so much as looked at Donnie again. Once again they were competitors and that was how it had to be.  
And the unfortunate fact was: he was winning. They had exchanged some data while they were allies and now he was so much closer to finishing the retro-mutagen than Donnie was. There just wasn't enough mutagen to go around. He'd have to go to the source, break into a Kraang facility and syphon gallons of the stuff in order to complete it. And that was a fool's errand.  
But Leonardo—he was just fool enough to do it.  
Leo knew that if Baxter Stockman made a successful batch first, they would imprison Karai and blame them for the whole thing. Shredder may even torture her. He didn't put that past him anymore. Leo refused to let that happen. They had to be the ones to save her. _He_ had to be the one to save her. And so every day, Leo was breathing down Donnie's shell, pressuring him to finish it. If there was anything Donnie needed, Leo ran to it. He wiped his brow, poured beakers, sat impatiently in corners, made him sandwiches. Anything.  
So when he heard Donnie mutter about breaking into the Kraang facility, Leo did the only sensible thing he thought he could do. He gathered his three brothers behind their father's back and sent them all out on the dangerous quest to go get it.  
'

'  
 _( **A/N:** Welcome and thank you for reading Crumpled Roses! It's in a bit of a different style from my usual but I very much hope you like it so far! I will have the next several parts up very shortly. :))_


	2. Part 2

**Part 2:**

Donnie was not looking forward to this. _At all_. See, he and the Kraang had developed a bit of a routine. They would create some crazy, stupid-elaborate security system for Donnie to crack and after deciphering the same one twice, they would change it up. Why twice? Donnie wasn't sure. But they became harder, crazier and somehow even more complex than the ones before. So he knew it was coming. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if half the wires and passwords had no real purpose at all... or something tried to spit venom in his face.  
The first few doors of the facility were standard and easy to get into. The four heroes came in from the ceiling and took down the few guards that had the misfortune of standing watch that night. Raph swooped in with his sai, tearing their heads from their sockets and had shoved their faces against the eye scanner to get in.

 _This_ was the part that wouldn't be fun. Playing _Find the Mutagen_ in a labyrinth of killer alien robots with guns. Whose bright idea was this?  
 _'Oh yeah_ ,' Donnie thought bitterly, _'...mine_.'  
"Stick to the shadows," Leo hissed. Like they needed to be reminded. This _was_ a stealth mission after all.  
They traveled silently down the large, expansive halls. There wasn't too much in the way of cover to shelter them, so they stayed in close proximity of one another. Ducking low, they followed the huge bulging power feeds above them to the heart of the building and the hallways became busier with the Kraang. Soon they were around every corner. The four had to hide themselves among the power feeds, behind walls, sometimes taking shelter in one of the vacant rooms when they could. Still they hadn't found a single trace of mutagen, but Donnie knew Central Control couldn't be too far away.  
It had to be around here somewhere.  
They turned around another corner and instantly stopped cold.  
Kraang. At least fifty of them were heading right towards them, blocking their path.  
"This way," Leo dragged his brothers into one of the rooms, just barely making it in time before they were spotted, sighing in relief as they passed them by.  
It was only then that Leo took a quick intake of his surroundings and his blue eyes grew wide.  
"Guys!" His voice bubbled with excitement. In the center of the room, stood a huge, towering tank of mutagen, nearly as tall as the ceiling. It shimmered it's strange green glow, casting strange light about the expansive room. Right beside it, at least a hundred small canisters lay on the floor, conveniently strewn haphazardly to one side.  
Leonardo could hardly believe their luck. "We found it! Enough mutagen to make fifty doses of retro-mutagen!" He grabbed a canister and motioned up for his brothers to do the same. "Come on. Let's steal some and get out of here!"  
Raph and Mikey hurriedly grabbed a canister of their own and leaped up to the top of the tank, forming an assembly line up to a large vent in the ceiling where the four would make they're escape.  
But Donnie lingered back. Something didn't feel right.  
"Why wasn't this door guarded? …Where's the security system? This room was _way_ too easy to get in…" he said suspiciously.  
"Who cares?" Leo said. "Let's just get it and get out of here."  
Still Donatello hesitated.  
"...Donnie," he ordered, "let's go."  
Donnie warily casted his doubts aside and jumped up beside Raphael to help. He grasped the satchel around his neck and pulled out a heavy duty syringe he had brought just for the occasion. It would be the easiest way for him to extract the mutagen without having to touch it. He knelt down beside the dark, swirling ooze and carefully withdrew, administering it into one of the containers that Michelangelo provided. Raph took over next, sealing it up tight before handing it off to Leonardo.  
Donnie had been hard at work the night before and created four mutagen carrying harnesses exclusively for the mission. They were each forged of old shopping carts and built so each one of them could carry three mutagen canisters on their backs. Leo's job was to make sure that each assembled mutagen canister was safely tucked away into one of the packs.  
The assembly line was quick and efficient, one after another were put together with ease.  
Four, five, six, seven canisters….  
Then they all heard a sound that made the blood chill in their veins; a strange otherworldly pop and whir from the doorway. They turned their heads and were met with the empty eyes of a Kraang soldier, staring down at them.  
They'd been caught.  
 _" ~Unauthorized access,_ " it droned.  
Leo looked over at what they had. The canisters were already locked, loaded and ready to go. They only needed three more.  
"Hold them off!" he commanded them.  
Raph, Mikey and Donnie jumped down to the floor, weapons in hand and their gazes set to fight. Several kraang now flooded the room, flanking in on either side. The first one from the doorway lifted its weapon.  
 _" ~Intruders will be destroyed as they are intruding upon that which should not be intruded upon. Kraang finds this, as they say: annoying."_  
"We're annoying?!" Raph gaped. "I take it you've never listened to yourselves then, huh?"  
The Kraang's weapons clicked and whirred as they charged. _" ~Affirmative,"_ it replied. A dozen more of the robotic soldiers spilled into the room and began to open fire on the turtles. The room instantly became a war zone. Pink lasers went flying everywhere. The three dodged and moved nimbly through every attack, pushing their skills, not giving the enemy any room to gain ground.  
Leo tried to work fast, grabbing the syringe that Donnie had used, carefully trying to get the mutagen into the container just as Donnie had done without touching it. Sometimes the occasional stray shot from the Kraang caused him to duck or freeze up, once nearly spilling the entire canister out but he proved himself lucky. With wide eyes, he hastily sealed the lid tight on the first canister and quickly grabbed another.  
"Guys watch this!" Mikey called. He leaped over one of the robot's shoulders and began to do hand springs off of their heads one after another. "It's like leap frog!" He finished it with a flourish, trapping the last robot's throat in his nunchucks and throwing him over his shoulder. "Only, like… a million times more awesome!"  
Michelangelo, however; had only really taken out the last one. The others were merely stunned and were now on the move again. Raphael saw this and came barreling through behind him, frustrated at having to clean Mikey's mess. He stabbed into one of them with his sai, dragging it harshly down its chest and then viciously threw him into another just as a third one turned to attack. Raph grabbed the robot and threw it over his knee, double stabbing it completely through and the kraang crumpled dead uselessly to the floor. He glared over at Mikey. "Sure. Except next time, try actually taking them DOWN WHILE YA DO IT!"  
Mikey laughed nervously and they heard another closing whirring behind them. A dozen Kraang stood surrounding them and the two crouched into a battle stance.  
And then the two robots collapsed to the ground and there stood Donatello, staff in hand, ready to take down another. "They just keep coming in!" He looked up to the top of the tank and called up to Leonardo. "LEO! SOON AS POSSIBLE WOULD BE NICE!"  
"I'M TRYING!" hecalled back. "I'm going as fast as I can…"  
He quickly worked the lid on the second canister and thrust it into the pack.  
He barely noticed that two of the Kraang soldiers were making their way across the top of the tank, heading right towards him. Donnie caught the motion from the corner of his eye, but he was being kept busy himself, his staff locked with a Kraang and he yelled up to warn him. "LEO!"  
Leo glanced over and his eyes went wide behind his mask. The shots were fired. He was barely able to jump out the way in time and in the process the last canister was knocked with his foot and it fell over the edge, down into the thick green bath. "NO!" he yelled down after it, but there was nothing he could do.  
He had worse problems now: he was cornered. He'd have to fight his way out.  
Leo grabbed the hilt of his blade. It sang as he pulled it fluidly from his back, his eyes angry. Before he even had a chance to strike, a tall bo staff twirled in the air from behind the bots. With a push of a hand, the staff turned into a javelin and it plunged into both metal bodies, pinning them against the wall.  
Leo blinked in surprise.  
"Here, catch." Donnie said, tossing a brand new canister into Leo's hands.  
"Thanks."  
"No problem," Donnie replied and Leo went back to work, drawing out mutagen from the tank. From atop of the tank, Donnie surveyed the war scene below. There were at least a hundred Kraang in the room, zeroing in on Raph and Mikey. And the odds didn't look good.  
"We've got to hurry," he squeaked.  
"Just one second…" Leo begged, trying to keep his hand steady. As though to curse his task the ground suddenly began to rumble beneath their feet. They stared up in horror as the doors opened and two giant blue biotroids lumbered in.  
The ones with the butt-cannons.  
"Leo… it's the guys with the butt cannons~ We really need to go now!"  
Finally Leo filled the last canister and at long last, screwed it shut and sloppily shoved it in the case. "GUYS! I DID IT! LET'S GO!"  
Raph and Mikey instantly retreated back and climbed their way to the top of the tank. "Took ya long enough," Raph growled.  
"Yeah yeah you can complain later." Leo quickly adjusted his shoulders into the harness and the others did the same. They stared back down to the floor. It was now a sea of Kraang, some of them daring to climb up the side of the tank.  
"Let's go," Leo ordered.  
Donnie nodded and silently hoisted Mikey up into the vent, Raphael after him. Now the Kraang were really catching up, climbing and crawling over the tower like a fleet of zombies. Leonardo looked over at Donnie and knelt down to help him step up into the vent. Donnie's eyes steeled and he stepped into his brother's hands and let himself be hoisted up and out.  
The pops and whirs grew deafeningly loud and suddenly Leo was completely surrounded.  
"Leo!" Donnie extended his arm out to him, begging him to grab hold. Leo leaped up with all his might, catching hold of his brother's arm, but the Kraang were quick to grab him too. Leo yelped in panic, squirming and kicking wildly to get them off. Raph jumped to his aid as well, desperately craning his arm until he grabbed hold of Leo's shoulder strap. "Come on, Leo!" he begged.  
Leo stared down in horror, watching three of the horrible bots climbing up his legs. Leo kicked and thrashed with everything he had. "GET OFF!" Finally two of them slipped, but still one last Kraang clung onto his shell for dear life and now Leo's hand started to slip. The blue masked turtle gritted his teeth and with all the strength he could muster, delivered a mighty blow to the remaining robot man's head. The metal soldier fell down and staggered back, teetering dangerously close to the edge before he lost his footing and plunged helplessly down into the tank.  
Time seemed to screech to a halt as Leo stared at what he had done. For a few moments, the mutagen stayed a perfect eerie quiet.  
And then he saw something…. something dark, swimming its way across the tank… And for a brief moment, he thought he saw something almost like a tentacle press up against the glass…  
"LEO!" Donnie wailed down. Leo turned and quickly reached up to his brothers and they all hoisted him up onto the safety of the roof.  
"Are you okay?" Raph rushed.  
"I'm fine." He stood up straight and mentally tried to shake off all that had happened. "Are you guys alright?"  
Mikey did a playful spin in response, proudly displaying his mutagen pack. "Locked and loaded," he said with a grin.  
"Let's get out of here," Donnie urged.  
"Best. Idea. Ever," Leo agreed. And with that, the four ninjas scampered over the rooftops, racing home through the cover of night.  
They'd done it. They'd really done it. And now they were one step closer.  
But as they continued to run, Leonardo couldn't help but feel something was… off. He lingered back slightly behind his brothers, keeping his senses sharp on what it could be. And finally he stopped completely. "Guys…?"  
They all stopped and looked back.  
"What is it?" Raph wondered.  
"…We're being watched."  
Instantly they crouched doqn, scanning over any detail that could be out of place. But minutes past and there was nothing. Not even an insect seemed to disturb the night's peace.  
Mikey turned to his eldest brother, completely puzzled. "Uh… Leo…?"  
"…There's… no one here," Donnie finished.  
Raph glanced over the area one more time, trying to sense the aforementioned danger but Donnie was right. There was nothing. He strode over to his eldest brother and clasped a hand to his shoulder. "It's been a long night. Let's just get home," he suggested.  
"Heh, y-yeah," Leo agreed.  
But he just couldn't shake it. That… feeling.  
Maybe it was his imagination. Leo tried to concentrate his mind on other things, trying to shake it off his mind the entire run home. Raph was right. He had to be. There just wasn't anything there.  
But it didn't go away. It followed him, nagging constantly in the back of his mind all the way home. Finally they arrived at the ally way that marked their home and one by one his brothers filed suit down into the sewer.  
Now this feeling was a barb in consciousness too powerful to ignore and he turned his eyes up, just once, towards the fire escape.  
Something _was_ watching him. A bright pair of eyes stood there, staring right back at him, its shadowy figure almost too familiar to Leo.  
His eyes widened a little. It almost looked like…  
But… it couldn't be….  
 _"…...Karai?"_  
The figure moved fast. Its eyes narrowed and ducked into the dark, climbing lithely up the iron clad rails and disappearing just around the corner. "Karai? Karai wait!" Leo leapt up, climbing after in hot pursuit. He reached the roof in record time but when he did no one was there. She was gone.  
But he could have sworn it was her. It had to have been.  
…Was he crazy?  
Leonardo climbed his way down the fire escape in defeat and trudged back down to his home, a million thoughts churning in his head.


	3. Part 3

**\- Part 3**

" _There_ you are!"  
Leo blinked, only now realizing he was back home in the safety of his living room. Raph gave him a weird look. "Where'd ya go?"  
"Um…" Leo thought about it. There was no real cause to stir any premature excitement about what he had seen, especially when he had yet to learn anything. Raph didn't need to know.  
"Nowhere," he shrugged, "where's Donnie at?"  
Raph hitched a thumb back. "In the lab. He's already got the nerd powers up and runnin'."  
Leo made his way to the lab to see Donnie was indeed on the job, already hunched over a microscope, adjusting the lens carefully just a breadth more so he could clearly see the cell's structure.  
"This mutagen is a bit darker than any other mutagen we've used before," he observed.  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
"Well, so far it doesn't show any _outstanding_ properties of being different… it's just kind of weird."  
"Weird or not we need this to be enough retro-mutagen for Karai… and the others," Leo replied. "How long do you think it will take?"  
"Well, since I already had the process well under way prior to tonight, it actually shouldn't take too long to finish," Donnie said thoughtfully, "…I suppose I could _maybe_ pull an all-nighter…"  
Leo could barely contain his excitement, his blue eyes lighting up bright. "Donnie that's great!"  
Realizing instantly that he'd sounded too eager, Leo quickly cleared his throat and regained composure. "I mean… great," he said seriously. "Be sure it gets done."  
"I'm already on it," Donnie insisted and he casually motioned Leo away, his brown eyes set seriously at the task at hand.  
"Alright," he muttered into his microscope, "Let's get to work."

/  
Leo walked into the main room to find it was actually pretty vacant for a change. He had been eager to tell Raph and Mikey the good news at how soon it would be finished, but it was clear they must have turned in early for the night. It was also clear that Mikey had been the last of them to leave, as he was the only one of them who had a habit of leaving the TV on.  
Regardless, Leo made his way to the kitchen, as the warm smell of the ramen Mikey made for dinner was calling out to him.  
Leo made himself a bowl and hunkered down comfortably in front of the TV. It was nice having some time to himself for a change, though he still wished there was some other way he could help Donnie.  
Oh well. There were times that Leo knew it was best to leave Donnie alone to do his thing. He twirled a few noodles over his chopsticks and then he heard the familiar sound of the dojo's paper door shuddering open behind him.  
"Thanks so much for teaching me again tonight, Sensei. I really enjoyed tonight's lesson."  
Leo slurped his noodles quietly. He had kind of forgotten April was training with Sensei tonight, or rather, hadn't realized she was still here.  
Master Splinter's voice was kind. "You are always welcome here, April," he told her.  
They bowed their heads respectfully to one another and then he retreated back into the recesses of the dojo to meditate.  
April cricked her neck and stretched the discomfort from her shoulders, hoping to relieve at least some the tension body, taking notice of Leo for the first time.  
"Hey Leo!" she greeted cheerfully. "Mind if I get in on some of that ramen?"  
"Go ahead," he replied.  
April waddled painfully over to the kitchen, preparing the last bit of ramen for herself. Then she plopped down beside Leo, her eyes gleaming happily at the meal. "I love ramen!" she said.  
"Yeah, me too," Leo smiled.  
She set the chopsticks properly in her hand and heartily began to eat. "So what's the status? Did you guys get the mutagen you need?"  
"We ran into a little trouble, but don't worry, we got it all," he assured. "In fact, Donnie says he'll have it done by tomorrow."  
"That's great!"  
"I know!" Leo smirked deviously at his co-conspirator. "Thanks for distracting Sensei by the way." The combo of her training and Leo's excuse for doing the night watch had proven the perfect way to not arouse any suspicion from his father.  
Master Splinter would have never allowed such a dangerous mission to take place.  
April cringed, reminded again of all of her training pains. "Not a problem," she grunted.  
Leo laughed a little at the unpleasant face she made and then he turned his attention lazily back towards the TV, the two chewing in silence.  
Then April gave him a sly look. "So… after Karai becomes human again, are you finally going to ask her out?"  
Leo promptly inhaled what he was eating, coughing and sputtering in surprise, and April calmly took his bowl from him. "Don't choke Leo," she teased.  
If a turtle could blush, Leo certainly did. He took a few good moments to get his coughing under control, before he glared over at her and took his ramen back. He did not answer her at first though and he could feel her eyes boring into him. It was clear she was not about to let this go.  
Leonardo stared into his soup, watching his noodles float and swirl idly in his bowl and he chose his words carefully.  
"I'm… not sure about that. I don't even know if she thinks that way about me," he replied honestly and then his eyes hardened. "Right now the most important thing is getting her human again and bringing her back."  
 _'Always with the noble answer,_ ' April thought with a sigh. "…Well, I think she likes you," she told him.  
Leo's insides turned upside down a little in his chest and she eyed him critically. "Oh come on! Isn't it better to find out, rather than not knowing at all?"  
Leo took that in for a moment, still so unsure. "…I'll think about it," he finally said.  
April gave him a kind reassuring touch on the arm and she gathered her dishes and traveled to the kitchen to lay them down in the empty sink. It was there she noticed the time.  
"Gah! It's already this late! I should be getting home. My dad will worry. Later Leo!" she called over shoulder, waving him goodbye before running off towards the surface.  
But Leo's mind was swimming with other things and he hardly heard her.

/

 _"~Earth time: Night  
Temperature: Unremarkable  
Interference of that which would interfere the task of Kraang: Negative  
Status: Boring."_

Such was the evening report for the two alien soldiers who stood guard right outside the door of TCRI. They stood proud in their inconspicuous human guise, staring ever vigilant and ready to defend that which should be guarded by Kraang.  
 _"~Yes,"_ Kraang replied, _"but Kraang must still watch out for intruders, as they are intrusive and unwelcome to Kraang."  
"~Yes, such as those who are called: The Turtles."  
"~Affirmative… How goes the diet?"  
"~It is well. Kraang has already lost 30 Kraang units of weight this month."_  
A scan had to be made before the proper response could be found. _"~…Good for Kraang."_  
And then the ground began to rumble beneath their feet.  
The street lights around them flickered and groaned before going out with a sudden pop. The two soldiers searched wildly about them, wondering what could have possibly caused such a thing to occur and then the siren warning began to wail.  
Something terrible was going on inside.  
The emergency light flashed a terrible red throughout the entirety of TCRI, calling all units to respond immediately and the two soldiers jumped to the call, racing into the facility and down the main corridor. With a strange popping whir, the two did a scan around them to find the ground littered with the corpses of fallen Kraang units.  
The air grew thick and they turned around to see a strange, black ooze crawling its way through every crevice of the ceiling and walls.  
It pushed up from the floors next, gathering and stretching over their fallen comrades, melting them into nothing and then it reached out towards the two hapless soldiers.  
One stepped back in fear. _"~What is this?_ " it asked.  
The second Kraang whirred, scanning its memory for an answer.  
 _"~Kraang identifies this as that which is called: a mess. We are doomed."_  
Then the ooze… gasped. It sounded as though it were drowning, dying for a single pocket of air and a strange misshapen face tried to form through the mess… then an arm... a leg… an entire body…  
It dragged itself desperately towards them, making a strange pop and whir that was almost familiar to Kraang, glaring at them with bright otherworldly green and pink eyes.  
And then the monster screamed… a horrible _painful_ scream, like a creature suffering, crying out for death. The black ooze now surrounded the two soldiers; the scream echoing and bouncing down every corridor of TCRI.  
It was the last sound they ever heard.

/

It was a beautiful sound, Leo thought. Perhaps one of his favorites in the world. It always seemed to ease his mind whenever he had a lot to think about.  
The leader in blue shut his eyes and took in a deep breath.  
 _…One swift motion._  
His eyes snapped open and he moved his feet to the proper stance, pulling his sword swiftly from the back of his shell. It snapped to attention, pointed lethally at his invisible enemy.  
That singing sound of his katana rang again through the silence and Leo studied his form in the practice mirror.  
Again. He needed to do it again. The whole kata. Fifteen more times at least.  
And so he began. Leonardo twirled the blades gracefully around in his hands. He breathed evenly, trying to align his thoughts with his movements until eventually time blurred and lost face.  
It was here he could think.  
…Or… become completely distracted.  
In the company of no one but himself and the dojo, Leo had often practiced the way he would speak when confronted by his enemy, as he did right now.  
Though this was a bit of a different kind of enemy.  
"Karai… I've been wondering…" he started.  
No, that was wrong.  
He tried again. "I've been meaning to ask… No…" he spun around, his kata deviating into a distracted solo combat.  
Why did everything he say sound so stupid?  
He tried again. "I've been thinking… _wondering_ more… if you…" he back-flipped away, landing perfectly again in front of his practice mirror. He stared hard at his reflection and turned his eyes away, "…were into giant mutant turtles," he finished bitterly to himself.  
What was he doing?  
Leo sighed and fitted his swords back into their sheaths, listening absently to the clicking sound it made when they found one another.  
He should seriously call it a night. He bowed his head and headed towards the direction of his bedroom.  
Tomorrow was probably going to be a big day for all of them. With the retro-mutagen done, they could fix everything and make things right again. Everything would return back to normal. And Karai would be here in the lair, safe and sound and finally reunited with Sensei again.  
That would be enough. He didn't "need to know" as April had put it. Honestly, he shouldn't know. She was technically his sister now. He didn't need it.  
…Well… maybe a hint wouldn't hurt. Just to satiate his curiosity.  
…It wasn't like she was _really_ his sister or anything.  
Leo finally reached his bed and flopped into it; his blue eyes stared long and hard at his ceiling.  
 _'…Maybe.'_  
He'd ask her, _maybe_ … Someday, after things had settled down.  
And then maybe, just maybe, she'd say yes.

'

'

 **(A/** _ **N:** I love Leo. He's so sweet. xD I'm still figuring out this website. It kind of feels like it hasn't been updated since the 80's. Just sayin'. Lol... but I'm trying! Anyways thanks so much for reading again! Stay awesome! I'll have the next ones up in a sec. :))_


	4. Part 4

**\- Part 4**

Bright yellow eyes fixated down the hallway as Rahzar lumbered his way down the long stone hall. A smirk played on his saber-like teeth and he dragged his long bony claws behind him, just for the sport of it. Because he knew Baxter Stockman would hear him. He knew the pathetic insect would cower within himself at the sound and he delighted in it with every fiber of his being.  
His long claws grasped the door and he shoved it loudly open. "Stockman!" he growled, "How goes the retro-mutagen?"  
The mad fly buzzed back at him involuntarily, his strange body hunched over his work. "It will be fffinished… ssssssoon… That is, if I don't run into anymore… unnecZZZessary… interruptions," he answered darkly.  
He grinned to himself, staring over the table of eerie liquids and strange mechanisms and the fool hunched over it. The experiments whirred and bubbled ominously in their beakers.  
It was only a matter of time. Once Stockman created the retro-mutagen he would naturally take it for himself and become human again, if for nothing else just to spite him.  
"It best be done by tomorrow." Rahzar looked over as the tall Tigerclaw paraded into the room, his no-nonsense voice bearing down upon the fly. "….Master Shredder orders it," he darkly decreed.  
Large bug eyes stared back at him, his cursed head twitching and buzzing beyond his control before he could reply.  
"Ffffear not~" he hissed, "It… _will_ be done."  
"I should hope so," Tigerclaw narrowed his golden eyes darkly; "You wouldn't want to disappoint him again."  
"No… I wouldn't," he carefully agreed.  
Satisfied that his point had been made, the tiger turned to leave, wishing to keep no more of Stockman's company and Rahzar followed his example.  
Now the fly twitched in his insanity, climbing excitedly over his chalkboard and he buzzed with glee. " _HHhhhh_ do they really think I _ffffear_ them now?! ZZZssst I have _nothing_. _Hmmm_ but that's about to change… Once I finish the retro-mutagen _I_ will call the shotsZ… and I'll be human again…" He instinctually spit and tried to groom himself, covering himself in his disgusting spit and he reveled in it. " _Hnnn_ …" he buzzed, "It's almost fffinished."

'

"It's almost finished," Donnie muttered much the same way, rubbing his tired eyes beneath the light. "Just a little more…"

'

" _Yesss_ just a little bit more…" the fly hissed.

'

Donnie poured one part of his concoction into another flask and raised the sample to the light. The sample had turned a scarlet red but everything else was right. So far so good. He took a small sample on a slide and eagerly adjusted it under his microscope. "Come on…" he begged.

'

"Come on…" Stockman muttered. Through his compounded eyes, he watched his experiment become bright orange in color, and he threw it under the microscope. The bright cells danced wildly beneath it, still possessed by their horrible mutation.  
And Donnie was having much the same luck. But still they stared down their respective microscopes, their eyes ever hopeful of that perfect change.

…And then something happened.  
The orange cells began to change and all at once they pulled back into themselves and became stable.  
"I did it!" Stockman laughed hysterically in disbelief. "I DID IT! I FINALLY HAVE IT!"  
 _Ssssing!_  
Suddenly Baxter Stockman was slammed down into his own table, pinned down as two long menacing blades drew out from behind him, stopping inches from his throat. His voice curdled in fear and he watched the Shredder lift his creation to the up to the light to admire it.  
"Excellent," he muttered.  
Baxter buzzed with rage beneath him before he was hurled to the floor like common trash.  
"NO!" he shrieked but it was to no avail. He watched helplessly as his prize was placed in the hands of the assassin Tigerclaw.  
Then the Shredder looked at him, his eyes glinting sharp as the steel he wore. He glared down heartlessly at the fly and the scientist shrunk beneath it.  
Bradford and Xever joined in the room as well just in time to hear Shredder's instructions.  
"Find Karai," he ordered darkly. "Give her the retro-mutagen and bring her back to me."  
"But..." Xever interjected, "how will we catch her?"  
Suddenly those fearsome steel blades he wore swung and smashed hard into the wall, dangerously close to Xever's throat.  
"Use your imagination… Subdue her if you must….. And if I discover that any of you have taken the retro-mutagen before that time," he pulled his long steel claws noisily from the concrete wall and raised them to each of his henchmen's faces. "I will teach each one of you personally why I am called The Shredder."  
His eyes narrowed lethally and he turned back to the fly. "Is that understood?"  
Stockman glanced up weakly from the floor and caught that terrible demeaning glare. His wings buzzed angrily and he complied:  
"YessZZT… Master Shredder."  
"…Now go," he ordered. "…. NOW!"  
The four mutants then quickly filed out one by one with their mission in mind, Baxter Stockman was last, pulling himself to his feet and walking hatefully past his master.  
"Do not disappoint me."  
"…I won't," he growled.

/

Donnie stared into the microscope nearly on the edge of being crestfallen. They hadn't turned. The cells in the sample were still mutated, bright red and running berserk. "That's… strange… why hasn't it turned yet?"  
His question was answered by a yawn and Donnie turned to see Leo standing in the door frame, blinking sleep from his eyes.  
It must be morning.  
"Hey Donnie… just came in to see how it was going…"  
Donnie became nervous, unsure how to tell him the truth. "W-Well… um…" he looked into the microscope one more desperate time, praying that it turned.  
And it did. Right before his eyes the cells suddenly changed and became stable. He laughed a little in awe, hardly believing it. "I got it!" he laughed, "I've got it!"  
Leo eagerly ran over, sleep gone from his eyes. "Y-You do?!"  
"YEAH BABY!"  
"Donnie, that's… amazing!" Leo rushed. "We've got to tell the others!"  
And the two ran out of the lab with their good news, not seeing as the cells in the sample grew suddenly wild and nearly tripled in size.  
"You guys! Donnie did it!" Raph and Mikey looked up from the TV at the excitement in Leo's voice. "We finally have the retro-mutagen we need for Karai!"  
"Are you serious?!" Raph's eyes widened.  
"Aw _YEAH, SON!_ " Mikey cheered.  
Master Splinter heard the commotion from the other room and quickly went over to his sons, seeing the excitement alighting in their four faces.  
"He did it!" Leo exclaimed.  
Sensei blinked and looked over to his son Donatello in shock. His eyes clouded a little with emotion.  
"Donatello, is this true?"  
Donnie smiled tenderly back at his father. "Yes Sensei, I did," he replied, turning his excitement back to his brother. "We can bring her back, _tonight_!"  
"Yeah, except where're we gonna find her?" Raph pointed out.  
"Uh… guys…?" Mikey hitched a thumb over at the television set and they all stared intently at the reporter's broadcast.  
 _"This is Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe reporting: There's a giant purple snake monster terrorizing the streets... Specifically between Maple and Third Street."_  
Donnie blinked numbly. "That's… oddly convenient."  
Michelangelo went up to television set and wrapped his arms lovingly around it, nuzzling it happily against his face. "TV has all the answers."  
But Leo continued to silently watch the footage. Police were surrounding her and he watched as she lashed out to attack them. In the background, smoke and fire billowed from the wreckage of buildings and the sound of a helicopter droned not far behind her.  
Raph and Donnie saw it too.  
Leo's eyes hardened. "Let's do this guys," he said.  
The boys were on it, turning flips over the turnstiles and running off for Shell-Raiser and Leonardo followed after them.  
"Leonardo."  
Leo stopped in his tracks and looked back to see what his father wanted.  
Sensei walked carefully over to his eldest and put a hand on his turtle shoulder.  
"My son, I know you are eager to save Karai… I too, wish to see her home safe… but sometimes even the purest of intentions can cloud a man's judgment…" He gave him a stern look, "and that goes double when it concerns a girl he fancies."  
Leo's eyes grew wide and he looked away, a hot blush consuming his face.  
"My point is: do not be so bent on your mission that it puts any of you in a bad place… I expect to see all of you return home safely… even if that means Karai does not necessarily come home tonight. Is that understood?"  
"Hai, Sensei," Leo answered.  
Then his father smiled at him kindly. "Now go," he told him. "...Bring her home."  
"I will," Leo said. "I promise I'll do my best!"  
And with that he ran off to join his brothers.


	5. Part 5

**\- Part 5**

Leonardo leapt into the driver's seat, eyes set hard and the radio cranked high.  
"Let's roll." He grabbed the clutch and threw it into drive, pushing pedal to the metal and they peeled out of the garage, rolling hard into the midnight city streets. Mikey howled with delight at the awesome drive out and speed, the latter of which Donnie did not approve of.  
"I take it the speed limit isn't in effect," he grumbled sarcastically, his words proceeded by an unintentional yawn.  
Raph glanced over. "Hey. Look alive," he warned.  
"I am," Donnie insisted. "I just… didn't get a lot of sleep last night—"  
"Hey, guys. The next street three blocks over is called Wrinkle Street," Mikey laughed from his navigation map, studying it hard, until he saw something that made his eyes go wide. "And they have HOTDOGS! Leo, can we get wrinkle dogs after this?!"  
Leonardo barely heard him, his mind wrapped up hard in future battle strategies and the road ahead.  
But Michelangelo was not one to be ignored, especially over something this exciting. So he leapt up from his seat, poking and pestering the back of his brother's chair.  
"Please, please, please-please-please, _PLEASE_!" he threw himself dramatically over his seat with a whine. "I need wrinkle dogs in my life~"  
Leo swatted him away. "Not now. Get back to your station. We need to stay focused."  
"Dude, we're on this street for like another fifteen minutes. Lighten up a little!"  
But Leo's eyes only hardened further, revving the engine beneath his foot so Mikey staggered backwards, having to grab onto his chair to keep from falling.  
"Woah!" Mikey yelped.  
"Didn't you see on TV? People are starting to hunt her down. We have to get her home, _tonight_ ," he said sternly.  
"And we _will_ ," Mikey assured. "Right after we swoop in like super ninjas and save the day! _What uuuup!?_ "  
Another street sign blurred green as it passed by, the name lingering at the corner of Mikey's eye and he winced a little, looking back.  
"Uhhhh, you should have taken a right back there," he said, hitching his thumb back.  
Leonardo's fingers clenched irritably around the wheel, a bitter growl on his breath, unheard beneath the rumble of the bus.  
But Donnie understood the irritation, rolling his eyes from his seat across the blurring shapes on the surveillance cameras and his attention was instantly stolen.  
"Leo, pull over," he ordered.  
Leo silently obeyed, pulling into park along the side of the road and the four filed out one by one, turtle eyes surveying the expanse of the street.  
"Well… she sure tore up _this_ place," Raph muttered.  
He wasn't joking either. The whole street somehow looked as though it were torn apart and melting. Parking meters curved and twisted strangely down against the pavement. Light fixtures bowed and mailboxes had been yanked from their foundation and thrown as though they had been common weeds.  
But the greatest victim of them all, oddly, had been the local flower shop, which seemed to have all its contents blasted out into the middle of the street.  
Raphael's hard green eyes tapered down to the pavement, and paused, nearly stepping into a bouquet of shriveled daisies drowned in a strange puddle of black ooze. Donnie arrived by his side and he knelt down to get a better look.  
It looked almost like oil, but thicker, almost jelly-like in consistency.  
And the puddles were everywhere, littering the streets in tiny craters.  
"What is this stuff?" Raph wondered.  
"I have… no idea," Donnie answered honestly.  
Leo sidestepped carefully over a pile of shattered glass only to almost step into one of the puddles himself.  
It was so thick and weird... almost shiny…  
"It's: _The Oooooze_ ~" Mikey answered ominously from behind him, as though he were trying to hype for a horror movie.  
Donnie pulled his staff from the back of his shell, aiming to give it an experimental poke, but Mikey grabbed his arm to stop him.  
"Don't touch the ooze, dude," he warned. "If there's one thing I've learned in my years of being awesome, it's never touch the strange goo in the streets!"  
"That _should_ be common sense for you," Raph cracked.  
Donnie pulled from his brother's grasp and he realigned his staff despite Mikey's objections and gave it one hard, careful nudge.  
It was an action he immediately regretted. The goo grabbed ahold as though it possessed a life of its own and began eating away at the wood like acid. In mere seconds a chunk of his staff had turned black and eroded into nothing. And the four yelped in terror, staggering back.  
" _See?!_ What did I tell you?!" Mikey wailed. "It's totally evil!"  
They all froze where they were and looked around, re-calculating every puddle around them as dangerous.  
Suddenly this street was a mine field.  
"…Okay, we know what the ooze does," Leo admitted calmly, "but it still doesn't tell us what happened or where Karai is. Split up and search for more clues."  
The three nodded and they fanned out, leaping carefully over fallen brick and shattered glass, ninja eyes set meticulously to detail.  
All except for Leonardo's. Something else had grabbed his attention entirely.  
There, lying abandoned beyond another sinkhole of ooze was the most beautiful red flower Leonardo had ever seen. It was striking, Leo thought, its pouting blossom proud and vibrant against the street as though it were trying to put the rest of the world to shame.  
No artist could have painted it better. He knelt down carefully beside it.  
It sort of reminded him of Karai in a way. It was the same shade as the one she wore over her eyes and on her lips.  
He reached out to take it.  
"AGGH!" As soon as he touched it, he yelped and recoiled, nursing a barbing sting in his hand. And from his finger a droplet of blood welled its way to the surface.  
Donnie had heard Leo's yell and came over immediately to investigate. "What happened?!" He knelt down beside him, his brown eyes wandered upon the answer.  
"Huh… a rose." He mused and he picked it up gingerly in his fingers, turning it over. "Pretty…. Do you know there are over a hundred species of roses? Humans have been using them for centuries for a variety of things, including teas, herbal remedies and perfumes. Also, depending on the color and the occasion, the rose has actually been known to symbolize a number of emotions such as love, friendship, appreciation, compassion… though love is the most common—you've got to be careful of its thorns though. Obviously they're pretty sharp."  
Donnie smiled kindly and offered it back for him to take.  
"Guys…?" Raph interrupted, "Come take a look at this."  
Donnie laid the rose down and they all gathered over to Raph who was in the middle of the street, staring upwards towards the city skyline.  
They followed the path of his eyes, and squinting hard, they saw the tops of these buildings were oozing. The same thick black gunk that made up the puddles in the streets was now crawling its way down every crack of the city walls. Then it came from the ground, pushing up from beneath the concrete, slowly drowning everything in its mess.  
And then something else moved, catching the corner of Leo's eye.  
He turned and there they were. Those same glowing eyes, staring down at him from the shadows of a distant fire escape.  
"THERE!" he shouted.  
In one fluid motion she was gone and Leonardo gave chase.  
It happened so suddenly, the others hardly knew what was happening, but they went after him regardless, climbing their way up the buildings as fast as they could go, careful to avoid the seeping trails of grunge along the way.  
It somehow seemed to be following them. It weaved and twisted over the gravel roads, towards the turtles and over every one of the abandoned flowers.  
Leo moved with desperate speed, trying to keep up and he followed her down, leaping over the edge of a building and running right out into the middle of a strangely empty street, untouched by ooze. And there he stopped short.  
He had lost sight of her. She was gone. Leonardo looked wildly about him, frustrated at himself and the unkind brick and windows that stared back at him. "Karai?!" he called out. "KARAI!"  
The other three finally caught up to him, each one gasping and wheezing for air. "Where is she?" Raph wondered.  
His blue eyes narrowed. "I lost her," he admitted.  
"…Of course you did."  
The four split up once more, searching the stretch for any clue as to where she could have gone. The cool night air tickled the scales on Michelangelo's face and he wrinkled his nose, wandering in the direction of the street corner, taking notice of the high green sign above him. And he immediately beamed up in delight. "Guys!" he called, "We're on Wrinkle Street!"  
"Not helping Mikey," Leo replied tiredly.  
Hmph. Of course Leo would say that. He just didn't appreciate the important things.  
Michelangelo continued his search, trying to stay focused on the issue at hand like he knew he should be doing.  
But… he _was_ hungry. It wouldn't hurt to know where the hotdog place was… you know, for future reference… So he looked around him idly for any sign of either Karai or (should the situation happen to arise) a place that had hotdogs.  
And his eyes were rewarded.  
There it stood; proud on its small stretch of sidewalk, bathing in the glow of the streetlight….. So simple… so elegant…  
The little white stand was set just across the street, adorned with an assortment of colorful balloons and sporting a bright, glowing sign boasting: _Famous Wrinkle Street Wieners!_  
…And it smelled _awesome_.  
Michelangelo glanced to the side. It was time to go stealth and investigate straight up ninja style. He crept towards it, carefully hiding behind any mailbox or street light that could provide him cover before he was finally close enough to touch.  
As if the situation wasn't perfect enough, nobody was guarding it at all. The street was completely empty! And there was a hotdog just sitting on the top, cooked-to-perfection, begging him, no, _daring him_ not to eat it….  
"Mikey, I _know_ you aren't thinkin' of hotdogs right now!" Raph's voice cut through like the plague.  
Mikey rolled his eyes. "Dude, lighten up! It's just one hotdog. _Look at it!_ It's so steamy, hot… and beautiful… It needs me…"  
Raph's eyes narrowed. "Yeah? Well we need you to try to stay _focused for once in your life!_ "  
Michelangelo wagged a finger in disapproval. "I don't work on an empty stomach, dude." He turned to back to the stand, his eyes set on his prey. "Come to papa~"  
And just as soon as the hotdog came into his life, it was gone, as a thick trail of black mucus took his hotdog from him and disintegrated it into nothing.  
"My hotdog," Mikey muttered in horror. "WHY?!"  
Raph's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed his brother and yanked him back by the shell as a huge pile of ooze rolled off from the adjacent building's overhang and splattered over the entire hotdog stand. It eroded away instantly.  
 _"NOOOOOO!"_  
"Enough with the hotdogs already!" Raph growled, pulling him far away from the mess. "Anyone know what this stuff is yet or what's goin' on here?!"  
"Not a clue!" No sooner had those words left Donnie's lips that a pink bolt of goop streaked through the air and zapped the ground right in front of his feet. "…That might be a clue," he muttered.  
The four warriors raised their eyes as a black wave rose over the city skyline. It loomed over them threateningly, formless and angry except for a pair of neon pink eyes.  
"How're we supposed to fight a giant ooze?" Raph demanded.  
"Better question," Donnie posed, "how are we supposed to fight a giant ooze that melts everything it touches?"  
"…I'm... not sure yet," Leo answered them honestly.  
Then they watched as a strange gelatinous mouth formed in its features just to let out one shrill, terrible scream. The turtles held their ears against the sound and then it turned to the lone building standing beside it and proceeded to fit all five stories into its mouth and swallow it whole.  
"IT EATS BUILDINGS!" Mikey wailed, giving Donnie a shake. "IT _EATS_ … _ **BUILDINGS!"  
**_ "YES I KNOW IT EATS BUILDINGS! I CAN SEE THAT!" he snapped.  
The Ooze roared down at them and the turtle's eyes widened with the realization:  
They were next.  
"Dudes…?"  
Leo's mind sifted through a million thoughts, trying to figure out what to do, what would be the safest route and then they all heard a small chuckle.  
It was… light, girlish and familiar, almost playful to their ears. They turned around to see what it was and, there, standing in the moonlight…  
...was Karai.

'

'

 **( _A/N:_** _I know, the Ooze. Terrible name. Dishonor on my family. The Glob probably would have been more appropriate but then there's the Blob... I don't know. I'm ridiculous. xD)_


	6. Part 6

**Part 6**

"I don't believe it…"  
The four stood still, caught in the seemingly impossible miracle that stood before them.  
She was just as they remembered. Pale skin, proud smile, her armor catching silver in the midnight glow of Manhattan.  
Her eyes met Leo's and the corner of her lip quirked to that teasing, lopsided smile.  
"….Guys…? Are you seein' what I'm seein' right now?" Mikey's voice hung just above a whisper and he shook Raph's shoulders, afraid if he tore his eyes away for even an instant, the illusion would disappear.  
Raph blinked. "For once I think we are," he muttered.  
"But... how is this possible?" Donnie wondered. "She was mutated on the news not even an hour ago…"  
Leonardo studied her form carefully. The very same thought had crossed his mind as well.  
Was it truly possible she had somehow found another way to reverse the mutagen's effects?  
Raph grasped his brother's shoulder tightly. "Don's right…. I don't trust this."  
But Raphael was always quick to distrust. It wasn't fair to assume anything, not yet. There was only one real way to know for sure. They would have to test her.  
Leonardo stood straight, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "…Karai…?"  
She arched her eyebrow back at him. _"Leo."_  
Any doubts Leo had instantly fell away with the sound of her voice and he couldn't help grinning widely. "This is great!" he exclaimed. "How did you become human?!"  
Before she could answer, another terrible scream shattered the sky above and The Ooze stood tall, bright eyes glowering down upon the five.  
Raph pulled his sai from his belt and turned them readily in his hands. "Looks like the meet-n'-greets gonna have to wait," he said. "We've got company."  
But as he said that, the Ooze began to change. One arm… then another. Soon two hands pushed from the inky mess, turning long, sloppy fingers.  
It seized the hapless skyscraper that stood before it, imbedding into its side. The sound of splitting wood and steel ground at their ears and in one horrible motion it tore the building clean in two, fitting the larger half into its gaping mouth.  
Mikey swallowed in fear. "And it still eats buildings~" he reminded them unhappily.  
Leo looked back over at Karai. "You mind giving us a hand?"  
Her expression faltered. Leonardo saw the spell of fear that cast in her eyes. She took a step back, warily glancing back down the adjacent alley from whence she came.  
"…What is it?" he wondered.  
 _"Leo…."_ She motioned him over. _"Come."_  
Her voice was soft, no louder than a whisper and with one more backwards glance to the alley, she turned to leave them.  
"Karai…" He wanted to understand… wanted to help her…  
But he was stopped. Lights flashed and sirens screamed. The humans had called in their own reinforcements to combat the menace. Guns and tanks, helicopters loaded with police. The Ooze wailed painfully at their attacks, swiping them from the air and throwing into its dribbling mouth, littering the streets in all its debris.  
The streets cracked and burned. It was chaos.  
And Leonardo glanced back, watching Karai's figure grow small by the fire-light; caught in between his two responsibilities. And only one thing rang true.  
"I'm going after Karai!" he called out to them. "I have to!"  
"WHAT?!" Donnie seethed.  
"Have you been drinkin' Crazy Juice?!" Mikey demanded. _"AAAAGH!"_  
Suddenly a large piece of concrete came barreling towards them, forcing the four to leap back.  
But still Leonardo's mind was set. "Guys…"  
"Go."  
Leo looked over to Raph, his response catching him by surprise. He was almost unsure he was hearing straight. "…What?"  
"If she knows somethin' about this _giant ear wax_ that'll help us take it down, by all means," he insisted. "We can hold it off."  
Leo couldn't help but appreciate this rare moment of Raphael's maturity. "Raph…"  
"Just go. Hurry up, Leo."  
Leo mentally thanked him and turned tail, running for the alley as fast as he could to catch up to her while his brothers stood face to face again with the glowing-eyed glob.  
"…So… what's the plan?" Donnie asked.  
"Pfft. Who said I had a plan?" Raph lunged forward on a battle cry.  
"…Right."  
Mikey and Donnie looked at each other, joining in on his battle cry and charged after.

'

'

 _ **(A/N:**_ _I know this one's short, but we have now officially have caught up to me. What do you think? I'm working on the next part now and will gladly share it when I'm done! I love making stories. :) Anyways, t_ _hanks so much and I hope you have a really awesome day!  
_

 _~NightyG)_


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